Man Chong 滿寵
Man Chong served Wei for 50 years, he was uncompromising when it came to the law and was a level-headed tactician who did not make foolish mistakes. He was a long time defender of Wei's eastern front and repelled Wu attacks on Hefei numerous times as well as advising the construction of Xincheng, further strengthening the eastern front. Man Chong ends his service at position of the Grand Commandant, one of the Three Excellencies. Biography By the age of 18, Man Chong was a county Investigator. At that time, Li Shou, and some others, were causing trouble for the people there. The Grand Administrator tasked Man Chong with dealing with them. He arrested Li Shou and his cohorts and got them to confess their guilt, after which they did not offend again. Man Chong was elevated to Magistrate of the commandery. There was a corrupt and greedy county Investigator called Zhang Bao who was causing trouble for the government. Man Chong had him arrested, interrogated and published his crimes. Life Under Cao Cao When Cao Cao 曹操 was invited to Yan province in 192 A.D., Man Chong was made an Assistant Officer. As Cao Cao rose in power, Man Chong did too. He followed Cao Cao to Xu city as was appointed as Prefect there. In 196 A.D., some retainers of Cao Hong 曹洪 had repeatedly violated the law, so naturally Man Chong had them arrested and punished. Cao Hong wrote to Man Chong, threatening him if he should not release Hong's retainers, but Man Chong ignored him. So Cao Hong went to Cao Cao and asked he pardon Hong's retainers. When Cao Cao summoned Man Chong, Man Chong knew that Cao Cao would ask him to release his prisoners. To prevent such an event, Man Chong immediately executed the prisoners. When Cao Cao heard, he was pleased and said: "Here is real attention to duty?"Cao Cao himself was known to punish criminals regardless of their status when he was acting as a Magistrate in Luoyang. In 197 A.D., Cao Cao was in conflict with Yuan Shu 袁術, among others, when Yuan Shu declared himself Emperor. The former Grand Commandant Yang Biao 楊彪 was related to Yuan Shu by marriage, and Cao Cao didn't like the idea of having a potential spy around. To get rid of Yang Biao, Cao Cao falsely slandered him, stating he was planning to supplant the Emperor. Cao Cao advised the court that Yang Biao be arrested for treason. Cao Cao then ordered Man Chong investigate Yang Biao. The Court Architect Kong Rong 孔融 and Prefect of the Masters of Writing Xun Yu 荀彧 both believed in his innocence, so they asked Man Chong to be gentle with his interrogation. However, Man Chong ignored them, he interrogated Yang Biao in full accordance with the law (he used flogging, or some form of torture, to get him to talk). After several days, Man Chong said to Cao Cao: "Yang Biao has been examined and makes no change in his statement. This man is known within all the four seas. If you punish him without good evidence of his guilt, you will certainly lose many people's affections. In my humble opinion, you should reconsider the matter." Because Man Chong had not held back in his interrogation, Cao Cao knew Yang Biao's statement to be true. And so Cao Cao pardoned Yang Biao and he was released later that day. A few years later, the relations between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao 袁紹 went from uneasy to open conflict. Yuan Shao held territory to the north of the Yellow river, but he was originally from the Runan commandery which was south of Cao Cao's position. The Yuan clan had long held distinguished positions within the court and had many supporters. Within Runan, there were many supporters of Yuan Shao and they raised forces against Cao Cao. Cao Cao was worried so he appointed Man Chong as Grand Administrator of Runan. Man Chong recruited 500 loyal men and captured 20 or so camps. Man Chong then used some form of trickery to lure the leaders still unaccounted for to one spot, then in one fell swoop, killed more than 10 of them. Man Chong secured 20,000 households and 2,000 soldiers, which he put to work in the fields. When Cao Cao invaded the Jing province, Man Chong went with him. Cao Cao made him an acting general at that time and was going to station him in Danyang. But because the Wu forces defeated Cao Cao at Chibi and launched several attacks against Wei's eastern front. Cao Cao had to rescind Man Chong's promotion and reinstated him as Grand Administrator of Runan to help defend against Sun Quan. Cao Cao ennobled him as a secondary Marquis. In 219 A.D., Shu-Han General of the Front Guan Yu 關羽 attacked Fan Castle following a major flood which causing the utter destruction of the Wei army. Man Chong decided to leave Runan and bring reinforcements to Fan to offer support to General Who Subdues the South Cao Ren 曹仁. Fan was partially flooded, the defences walls crumbling and the troops nervous, some even suggested to Cao Ren that they flee before Guan Yu could encircle the castle. Man Chong said: "The flood came swiftly, and we can hope it will go just as fast. I hear that Guan Yu has already sent a detachment towards Jia, and the whole area south of Xu city is disturbed. The reason Guan Yu does not go forward is because he is afraid our army may cut off his rear. Once we run away, we shall have lost everything south of the Yellow River. You must stay here." (Jia county was in Yingchuan commandery only 80 km west of Xu city) Cao Ren agreed with Man Chong's judgement. Man Chong sacrificed a white horse and swore an oath before the defenders. The men of Fan rallied and Man Chong fought long and hard until Wei reinforcements chased Guan Yu away. For his deeds, he was rewarded with a village marquisate. Life Under Cao Pi When Cao Pi 曹丕 assumed the throne as King of Wei, he promoted Man Chong to General Who Displays Martial Virtue. At some point between 220-222 A.D., Wei launched an attack on Jiangling and Man Chong defeated the Wu forceNot sure what battle this is referring to, at this time Wu should have been allied with Wei as they were afraid of Liu Bei's retribution over the death of Guan Yu and Cao Pi had accepted their surrender. and was promoted to General Who Calms the Waves and stationed at Xinye 新野, just north of Fan castle. In 222 A.D., Cao Pi launched his invasion of Wu.Only significant battle at the time. But have no corroborating accounts including Man Chong as the vanguard. Man Chong was given command of one of the vanguard forces and marched out against Dongkou. Man Chong set up position on the north of Jing lake (near Guangling commandery), with the Wu forces camped on the opposing side of the lake.Not entirely sure of the location of Dongkou, but I assume it must be near Guangling. The two forces sat opposed to each other on either side of the lake. Man Chong said: "Tonight, the winds are unfavourable to us, the thieves will surely try to employ fire against us. We must be prepared for when they do." And so the entire army went on high-alert. At midnight, the enemy indeed tried to employ fire attacks as Man Chong surmised. They sent 10 divisions to burn down the Wei camp. However, because Man Chong had predicted such an action, it was thwarted and the Wei forward base was secure. Man Chong was ennobled as Marquis of Nanxiang (南鄉). In 223 A.D. Man Chong was granted the Ceremonial Battle-Axe (representation of military authority). And in 225 A.D., Man Chong was promoted to General of the Van. Life Under Cao Rui In 226 A.D., Man Chong was enfeoffed as Lord of Changyi when Emperor Cao Rui ascended. And in 228 A.D., was appointed as Inspector of Yu province. In the spring of 228 A.D., a defector from Wu informed Man Chong of an impending invasion from Wu, they said Sun Quan was coming personally. Predicting that Wu would intend to at Xiyang (西陽) Man Chong immediately made defensive preparations there. When Sun Quan heard that Wei was forewarned, he called off the attack. In autumn of the same year, Zhou Fang 周魴 feigned defection to Wei in order to lead Cao Xiu 曹休 into a trap. Cao Xiu was duped and led his forces towards Huan in Lujiang commandery to cooperate with Zhou Fang. Sima Yi 司馬懿 was sceptical about the defection and wanted to take precautions. Sima Yi advised an attack against several of the southern fortresses, Man Chong was ordered to march on Xiakou. Man Chong was concerned about the leadership and memorialised the throne, saying: "Though clear in mind and resolute, Cao Xiu has seldom participated in battle. The route he now takes has lakes at the rear and the Jiang on the side; it is one where advance is easy and retreat is difficult. This is what is called Entangling Ground. If entering Wujiangkou, great caution will be necessary." However, before the memorial could be answered, Cao Xiu had met Lu Xun 陸遜 at Shiting. On the way back from the battle, Cao Xiu died. Man Chong succeeded Cao Xiu and was appointed as Chief Controller of Yang province with authority over all military matters there. Because Man Chong was so liked by the people in Runan, they wanted to follow him. He tried forbidding them from doing so, but they would not heed him. The Protector of the Army memorialised the court saying he wanted to kill all the leaders of the group to subdue the people. The court thought that action too extreme, instead they asked Man Chong to pick 1,000 men to let follow him, and have the rest remain. In 230 A.D., Man Chong was elevated to the position of General Who Subdues the East. Early in 231 A.D., the Sovereign of Wu, Sun Quan 孫權, announced he was planning on attacking Hefei. Man Chong memorialised the Emperor asking for reinforcements from Yan and Yu province, which he received. Soon, the Wu forces arrived, but seeing how heavily defended the fortress was, they retreated. The Emperor commanded the troops be dismissed. However, Man ChongFang has Xu Xuan here, but Man Chong's SGZ bio indicates it was him. Xu Xuan would have likely been in Luoyang at the time and would have stopped the edict recalling troops from being sent. Because such an edict was sent, it was most likely ignored by Man Chong, who was at Hefei. suspected the early retreat was a ruse and part of Wu's original plan and commanded the troops remain. After 10 days, the Wu troops did indeed return, but seeing the fortress still heavily defended, retreated. In Nov. of the same year, another Wu officer, Sun Bu asked to surrender to Inspector of Yong Wang Ling 王淩. Unfortunately, Sun Bu said he had not the strength to make it Wei so he asked for an escort. Wang Ling asked Man Chong for troops, so that he may go get Sun Bu. However, Man Chong thought the surrender to be another deception so refused Wang Ling. Furthermore, Man Chong wrote to Sun Bu on Wang Ling's behalf asking him to make the first move, saying: "Knowing who is right and who wrong, you wish to avoid calamity and make yourself obedient, to leave behind the unjust and return to the just. This is very commendable. Now we wish to welcome you; but I am of the opinion that if the troops are too few, they will not be sufficient to protect you; and if they are too many, the matter will inevitably be discovered. Therefore you may first think out some secret scheme and act when the time is right." Not being on good terms with Man Chong and having just been rebuffed by him, Wang Ling sought to remove him from his position.When this event happens is vaguely given as "earlier", so may not occur here. But the timing of Man Chong being summoned before Cao Rui and Wang Ling knowing Man Chong will be absent lines up nicely. Wang Ling memorialised the throne that Man Chong was decrepit, senile and too fond of wine, ergo unsuitable for such an important post. The Emperor was going to dismiss Man Chong, but Serving Within the Palace Guo Mou 郭謀 reproached him, saying that Man Chong had given 20 years of meritorious service, before dismissing him it would be best to meet him in person, then decide whether he was fit for office. As it so happened, Man Chong was summoned to court; but before he left he gave explicit instructions to his Chief Clerk, that should Wang Ling come asking for troops, he be given none. As expected, Wang Ling did come and demand troops but to no avail. Dejected, Wang Ling was only able to send a single general with a few hundred troops to receive Sun Bu. But as Man Chong had suspected, it was a trap. Sun Bu launched a night ambush killing over half of Wang Ling's men. Meanwhile, Man Chong was in audience with the Emperor, he imbibed a tan of wine without becoming inebriated. So Cao Rui found him strong and healthy so he sent him back to his post. In 232 A.D., Lu Xun made an attempt to take Lujiang. Man Chong's subordinates were of the opinion that they should go aid Lujiang. However, Man Chong wanted to make a decisive blow against Wu, he said: "Small as Lijiang is, it can be defended for some time. The rebels have left their boats and marched for 200 li (100 km). We ought to induce them to come. I am only afraid that they may flee before we can get hold of them." Thereupon, he proceeded to Yangyi fortress. Lu Xun realised the danger and ordered his forces to withdraw during the night. In 233 A.D., Man Chong devised a new strategy to combat Wu. He memorialised the throne saying: "Hefei has the Jiang river and Lake Chao to the south; it is far south of Shouchun. It is very easy for the rebels to advance and very difficult for our reinforcements. 30 li west is a high location where we can build a new fortress. In this manner we will be drawing the rebels to level terrain and obstruct their route of retreat. This is a good plan." General Jiang Ji 蔣濟 opposed this plan, he thought it would show weakness to the enemy, that they were scared of Wu. But this was what Man Chong was counting on, he said: "Sun Zi says, 'War is a matter of deception. Therefore, when we are able, we make a show of inability to the enemy; we make him arrogant by yielding him advantage and showing fear.' This shows that appearance and reality need not correspond." He went on to say: "Sun Zi further says, 'One who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances, according to which the enemy would act.' Now, if we move our fortress farther inland, it is feigning weakness. If we make the rebels leave the water far behind while we ourselves move along the lines of advantageMan Chong is paraphrasing yet another of Sun Zi's tenets, 'To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from it, to wait at ease while the enemy is toiling and struggling:- this is the art of fostering one's strength.', and act from the exterior, then good fortune will be brought about in the interior." The Master of Writing Zhao Zi 趙咨 agreed that Man Chong's plan was salient and the Emperor heeded his advice and Xincheng or New City of Hefei was constructed. As Man Chong had surmised, Wu did indeed come later that year. But upon arrival, Sun Quan began to feel faint, the advance and retreat against Hefei would now require abandoning the safety of the water. Sun Quan dared not leave his boat for 20 days and the officers of Hefei began to think he would simply abandon the attack, but Man Chong said to them: "As we have moved the site of our fortress, Sun Quan is certain to boast among his people. Now he has come with his large forces with the aim of some achievement. Although he does not dare to come to us, he certainly will land on the bank and display his forces, to show that his strength is ample." With that said, he sent 6,000 troops to conceal themselves in ambush near the lake. As Man Chong predicted, Sun Quan did indeed make a show of strength and the ambush was sprung. Several hundred men were killed and others drowned as Wu fled. Next year in 234 A.D., Wu and Shu-Han launched a coordinated attack on the east and west fronts of Wei, Sun Quan brought an army of 100,000 men against Hefei. Man Chong wished to lead his troops to reinforce Hefei immediately, but General Tian Yu submitted it best to let Wu tire themselves out attacking first, so Cao Rui did not let Man Chong go. Man Chong later asked that the soldiers and officers currently on leave be recalled as reinforcements; Liu Shao thought this idea good and suggested to Cao Rui that Man Chong be given 8,000 soldiers to act as the vanguard and that they should attempt to exaggerate their numbers. Cao Rui agreed and Man Chong was given 5,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry to reinforce Hefei. Finally, Man Chong suggested abandoning Hefei in order to draw the Wu forces in closer and score a decisive victory once they tried to attack Shouchun. But Cao Rui thought that Hefei was far too valuable to lose and so would not consent. With that, Man Chong went to relieve the siege of Hefei. As Liu Shao had suggested, Man Chong's men made a great clamour when they arrived, they put out banners and drums in great number to make a show of force. Meanwhile, the cavalry forces left behind the Wu forces to cut the enemy's supply lines. Thinking Cao Rui's main force had arrived and seeing their supply lines in danger of being cut, the Wu forces retreated. Man Chong then enlisted several dozen volunteers, and with the winds favourable, they took burning torches and set fire to the Wu siege machines. Man Chong also shot Sun Quan's younger brother Tai 泰. Furthermore, many of the officers and soldiers were suffering from a disease so the forces of Wu retreated. In the spring of 234 A.D., Sun Quan attempted to expand north of the Jiang river. He sent thousands of peasants to set up agricultural coloniesMilitarised soldier-farmer settlements that produce their own food and are responsible for their own defence.. Man Chong waited until November, when he deemed the harvest would be ripe, the peasants reaping the fields, and the town guards away from their settlements. Man Chong launched a surprise attack on the settlements, destroying all the towns and burning the fields. An imperial edict rewarded those who performed good service. End of Service Apr. 239 A.D., Man Chong retired from service and took the position of Grand Commandant. Man Chong did not have an estate nor did his family have money. So Cao Rui issued an edict which praised Man Chong's character, his loyal military service, his sense of civic duty, his conduct and his obedience. And bestowed upon him: 10 qing of land, 500 hu of grain, 200,000 coin. In the following years, his marquisate increased to 9,600 households and two of his descendants were ennobled as pavilion marquises. In 17 Apr.-16 Mar. 242 A.D., Man Chong died. He was posthumously canonised as "Accomplishing" (景) Lord of Changyi. Family * Sons ** Man Wei 滿偉 - Officer to Minister of the Guards. * Grandsons ** Man Changwu 滿長武 - Son of Man Wei, beloved by Man Chong. At 24 served the General-in-Chief. See also Notes Fact vs. Fiction Historically… *… References Sources Category:Wei Category:Wei Personages